Flying

The emperor has new clothes. Cessna’s latest incarnation of its midsize Sovereign fits advanced technology and improved interior design into a fuselage tube cross section introduced by the Citation III back in 1979.

Although Dassault Falcon Jet’s current line of business jets satisfies the needs of buyers who want large, wide cabins, there is no Falcon Jet that flies as far as the ultra-long range Gulfstream G650 or upcoming Bombardier Global jets.

Hopscotch Air, a small charter operator that uses five-seat single-engine Cirrus light airplanes, just celebrated its fifth anniversary, a notable accomplishment in this economy. The company—which focuses on short flights, primarily within a 300-mile radius of New York City—serves destinations throughout New England and as far south and west as Washington, D.C., and most of Ohio.

You may never charter a business jet that requires a flight attendant. No chartered aircraft with 19 or fewer passenger seats needs one, according to U.S Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency regulations.

I remember when I first saw a Boeing 757: While boarding one in 1983. I was struck by the highly cambered wings; the tall landing gear; the nose, which recalled a Lockheed Constellation; and the pair of big, high-ratio bypass engines, which seemed to produce a gentle hum as opposed to a whine. This was elegance and efficiency in motion mated to a comfortable cabin with plenty of headroom.

A recent CNBC news item noted that Formula One racing tycoon Bernie Ecclestone “flipped” his new G650 just weeks after he took delivery. An Asian industrialist who didn’t want to wait out Gulfstream’s order backlog for the popular new model bought it for $72 million—$7.5 million more than the list price.

Quote/Unquote

““Corporate executives should be your core business…You need [salespeople who are] comfortable with the kind of boardroom leaders that see Lear Jet as a tool, not a frivolous extravagance for movie stars and their pets.
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-Advertising executive Pete Campbell to a Lear Jet executive on the penultimate episode of TV’s Mad Men series, set in 1970